Acting skills audit

VOCAL SKILLS Emphasis- when sounds or words are altered to highlight their meaning. voice- You may have to communicate with others. For instance, when I played Rizzo from Grease in my school production, I had to say my lines to other characters. Dynamics- Weather you say your lines high pitched or in a deeper voice. Accent- You may have to change your accent to interpritate the character's. For instance, you may have to put on an American accent if the character you're playing is from America. For this skill I'd currently score myself a 6. To improve I need to be more confident in trying new techniques. PHYSICAL SKILLS If your character is stressed, excited or scared, they may move around the stage and not just stay on the same spot. They may go up-stage, down-stage or stage right and left. They may move in a certain way such as, fearfully, painfully, slowly, quickly etc... Gesture is another physical skill to communicate ideas to the audience. You may have to mime, for instance pretend you're painting a wall or putting a table together. For this skill I'd say I'm a 6. To improve I need to move around more (only when necessary) so it makes it more interesting for the audience. I need to make sure that whilst I'm moving I need to walk in a certain way (scared, happy) IMAGINATIVE SKILLS If you're performing a monologue, you may have to use your imagination and pretend you're talking to someone (if you have to) For my BRIT audition, I had to pretend that my boyfriend was breaking up with me face to face. This meant that I had to imagine he was there which made the performance look much more realistic. For example if you're playing the role as a child and you're mother has just died, you have to try and imagine it happening what what you'd be like in that situation. For this skill I'd score myself an 8. To improve and get at least a 9, before I start my monologue I need to take a short time to leave my body and go into my characters and feel how she's feeling and how she stands by using the physical skill. ANALYTICAL SKILLS If you have been given a monologue, and told to look over it, you may annotate it. You should ideally draw lines off of certain lines or words saying what they might mean and how you would say it. Start building up your character, stating how they may feel in the situation they're in. Out of 10 I would currently score myself a 6. Instead of just reading over a monologue and focusing on learning it and getting the words right, take time to annotate it and gather a background story behind it to create more of a realistic atmosphere. OBSERVATION SKILLS When you're given a monologue, you should observe it closely and think about why you're character is saying what they're saying, think about the reason behind it.If you're acting with other people, you'll need to observe them because it may help you to remember when your que is and what you're supposed to be doing. If someone performs a drama piece infront of you, look to see what skills they're doing. This may give you ideas that you could use. I'd currently score myself a 7. To improve I need to think about the meaning of the monologue and not just learn it. COMMUNICATION SKILLS It is good to contribute in group discussions and give your opinion and view on what's being said. It is good to involve everyone aswell as yourself. Share your ideas and be creative, think outside of the box. I'd give myself a 7 on this skill. To improve I'll need to contribute in group work more. TEAM SKILLS You may have to act with others, so it is good to listen to other people's ideas. You may have debates on what to do, but it is good to listen to everyone's opinion and come up with a conclusion. In team skills I'd give myself an 8 because I listen to what people have to say and respect their ideas. To improve I need to put my ideas forward more and become more confident when working with others.

Body masks

In this lesson we used one part of our body and led from it. We would start from 1 to 10 on how much emphasis we would put on leading with that particular part of the body. By doing this it helped me to feel like a different person each time which helped me to understand how to portray my character. For example, if i led from my chin it would make me feel stuck up and over-confident which isn't like my character; so instead I would slightly lead from my head whilst I walked because my characters quite secretive and likes to keep things to herself. To do this activity I used my physical and imaginative skills.

My character is my monologue as an animal

In my monologue ‘Richard Fisher's Funeral’ By Kellie Powell, the character speaking is called Drew. I’d say she’s around the age of 15 but seems very mature for her age by the way she talks, for instance when she says ‘I can't forgive him. I won't pretend. So go read "Footprints in the Sand" if it'll make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.’ Her aim is to be heard and understood about how badly her father treated her before he died and the sheer terror he put her and her little brother Ricky threw. If Drew was an animal, I would she’s an owl. This is because she speaks very wisely and sticks with what she believes in. She’s very forward-minded and no one can change how she feels about her father, regardless of whether he’s dead. She doesn’t forget the past, like a wise owl. Although she has a lot of anger built up inside of her, she manages to stay calm. She doesn’t like to fight or argue but simply states how she feels in a sensible manor. Facts about owls: • Owls are active at night (nocturnal). • Most owls hunt insects, small mammals and other birds, some owl species hunt fish. • Owls have powerful talons (claws) which help them catch and kill prey. • Owls are very quiet in flight compared to other birds of prey. • Owls are found in all different habitats and there are different owl species found on all continents except Antarctica. • Many owl species have asymmetrical ears that are different sizes and different heights on their heads. This gives the birds superior hearing and the ability to pinpoint where prey is located, even if they can't see it. • All owls have upright posture and forward-facing eyes that give them binocular vision, just like humans. • The female is often more richly coloured than the male. • Not all owls hoot, and owls can make a wide range of other sounds, such as screeches, whistles, barks, growls, rattles and hisses. During the nesting season, owl calls can often be heard up to a mile away. Female owls generally have higher voices than their mates. • A group of owls is called a parliament, wisdom or study. To give the sense of Drew as an owl, I'll need to use my physical skills, imaginative skills and vocal skills. I'll need to make my voice soft at times but harsher at others when necessary.

Given circumstances and magic ifs and how they affect my monologue

From my monologue you are told that the character I’m playing (Drew) that it is her father’s funeral day by when she says, ‘Today my father's going in the ground.’ To help me picture what Drew is like, and how to get to know her as a person in order to feel like her, I have come up with magic ifs. What does Drew look like? What if she’s wearing battered old black converse shoes? What if she’s wearing an ivy green baggy jumper that droops down below her knees? What if she’s wearing tights that have many holes and ladders in them? What if her hair is slightly greasy tied back in a ponytail? What if she stands with a slightly arched back because she’s self-conscious? Maybe she talks with a sense of wisdom? To help me to achieve having a sense of what drew is like, I'll need to use my physical skills, analytical skills and imaginative skills.

About my chosen monologue

The monologue I have chosen to do is taken from the 10 minute play called ‘Richard Fisher’s Funeral.’ This play was written by Kellie Powell and first published in 2007. Kellie Powell has written over 20 plays. ‘Richard Fisher’s Funeral’ has a cast of just two females, Jayna is the step-mother and Drew is the step-daughter. Richard Fisher the deceased man was the husband of Jayna and the father to Drew. The action takes place before his funeral. Drew has had a panic attack and is feeling very distressed; Jayna is trying to persuade her that, now that her father is dead, Drew should forgive her father for his past behavior as they prepare for his funeral. This monologue expresses the feelings and emotions of a young girl around the age of 13 to 14 years old, and how she was scared and threatened by her father. Initially Drew responds in a calm manner, but her frustration grows as she feels she is not being listened to by Jayna. Eventually she explodes in rage and anger, these emotions are directed not only at her step-mother, but also towards her dead father. The monologue gets straight to the point, the first line spoken by Drew being: ‘You don’t get it. I’ve been afraid of my father all my life.’ Immediately this confession leaves the audience feeling sympathy for the young girl and asking themselves questions, which have arisen just from the opening sentence. One of the questions they may be asking themselves could be, ‘why is she scared of her father?’ Wanting to discover more will make the audience pay attention to gather the answers to their unanswered questions and satisfy their curiosity. Kellie Powell has successfully drawn the audience in from the first few words of the play. Further on into the monologue Drew says: ‘Not believing, but knowing… That one day he would kill me. That he’d kill us all.’ This again would be a shock to the audience because a father should be someone who loves you, cares for you and would risk their life for you, where in this case, it seems like the father is trying to end his own daughter’s life. Another question the audience may be asking could be, ‘who else does he want to kill? What does she mean by ‘he’d kill us all?’ Drew goes on to describe one of her earliest memories, her parents were busy decorating the house and her two year old brother, Ricky, tried to help. By doing so, he managed to drop a tin of paint. Although Drew was only four years of age, she remembered the day clearly. The playwright sets the scene in our mind of Richard Fisher’s reaction to this accident, by using emotive words such as, ‘screamed’ and ‘crying’ and ‘yelling.’ Drew’s father punched a hole in the wall due to his fierce temper. Drew has already told us that she ‘spent every waking moment trying to keep him from exploding.’ So we know that his livid reaction to Ricky dropping the paint was not an isolated incident. By reliving this memory, Drew’s anger grows and she finishes the monologue telling Jayna that she does not forgive him and won’t be saying any kind words at his funeral because it would all be a sham.

What are acting skills?

Acting skills consist of many other varied skills such as: • Vocal skills (using emphasis, pauses, pitch, tone, accent, articulation, pace, volume/projection and clarity) • Physical skills (movement, mime and gesture) • Imaginative skills (be open-minded and willing to try new techniques to challenge yourself) • Analytical skills (when you’re learning a new monologue, analyse the text and try to understand where your character is coming from and how they would say certain lines) • Observation skills (when watching someone else perform to an audience, pick up on the techniques they use and how they may act playing a role to give yourself ideas for the future. Also when you’re on stage performing with other people, make sure you’re weary of what is happening and when you’re line is next by observing; but not too intensely whilst in front of an audience) • Communication skills (how you can communicate with someone whilst performing either by speaking, for example the tone of our voice, gesture by using different parts of the body such as your head or hands, or even silence with the movement of your eyes) • Team skills (how you co-operate with others, for example letting other people give their opinions and ideas and how you can work together as a group to achieve a task/s) . To be an all-round performer, you have to train hard until you are competent in all these areas. My aim is to include all, if not most of these physical skills in my monologue. I will achieve this by practicing my monologue adding in different skills and annotating where to put them on my sheet.

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